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Winter Travels and Travails

She spends the bulk of her time with Tex and the rams but takes to travelling out to the ewe flock and back in again.

I watched her going across country while I was heading back to the yard, going the only way I can travel, that is, by way of an established trail through the snow.

The photo stirs me in some way. It has a lonely feel to it. Also, Birdie is anything but wild, but if I didn’t know that, I might think she was. And if I didn’t know her I’d be curious about where she was going.

Another thing about this photo, it just shouldn’t look like that much winter is still with us. Scrap that recent blog post I wrote about Spring leaning in hard. Winter has the upper hand again, or maybe we're into second winter. It’s seriously cold again, the spring melt has only barely started, and I’m a bit disbelieving that we’re shearing in a weeks time.

This month has presented a few opportunities of bittersweet photos. This next one just makes me shake my fist at Mother Nature and plead with her to get Spring in gear already.

Amazing that they still know where the water should be, but frozen over doesn’t aid them much and a good deal of their food source is well buried beneath winter long, crusted over snow.

To ease the frustration I’m taking advantage of the extended winter by continuing to do artwork and writing. I may not be able to solve the woes of Mother Nature but I can find ways to open eyes and hearts to her and help deepen the connection.

Comments

Definitely looks like Birdie is on a mission! Hope your weather cooperates soon. Looks like your snow is that hard crusty kind that is difficult to walk in. Our last snow, which thankfully has mostly disappeared, was like that, and although Bess didn't care, it made traveling difficult for me and the border collies, especially my old boy. I keep telling the cattle that they will be on green grass in 30 days. I hope I am not lying!

We have he exact weather here in Northern Minnesota. I am worried about all our migrating birds that have come back and are in search of open water. The ice on our lake has yet to start moving. We now have record-breaking cold for this time of year. So I write and wait like you.